In this week's parsha we read of yet another complaint of the nation, and as a result of this complaint, HaShem sent upon them the poisonous snakes. Moshe was commanded to make a copper serpent and to put it upon a pole. Moshe did this and the Torah asserts: "whoever was bitten would look upon it (the copper snake) and live."

A number of questions arise about this parsha:

Why did HaShem send snakes and not a different kind of animal?

There are those who explained that the snake is the symbol of the dangers which lurk in the desert – "The bite of the snakes had only one purpose: it demonstrated to the nation the dangers which awaited it in the desert at each and every step, and that until then only the power of HaShem's miracles kept them away from the nation, and He distanced them to the point that they had no inkling of their existence. And now, everyone who was bitten will engrave in his heart the image of the snake, in order to remember it afterwards, when the chesed of HaShem will drive away the snakes. This way he will always be aware of the existence of the dangers which HaShem enables us to pass over every day and every hour, without our even knowing of them." (R.S.R. Hirsch on the parsha)

Occasionally one doesn't appreciate all the good and abundance that he has, and it is necessary to reveal to him for a moment the danger which he is liable to encounter. And this way he will learn to appreciate G-d's endless kindness upon him.

Still: Why was the snake chosen? Aren't there other animals which symbolize the dangers in the desert?

Additionally: How can we understand why Moshe chose specifically to make a snake (nachash) when he was commanded to make a serpent (saraf)? Indeed some commentators wrote that the serpent is a type of snake, but the emphasis on the making of a snake still remains to be explained. 

The Ramban explains a great principle in the parsha:

"And it appears to me that the secret behind this is that this is the way of the Torah, in which all of its workings are 'a miracle within a miracle.' (And consequently) it removes the adversity with the adversity itself, and heals the affliction with the affliction itself, as we saw in "and He showed him a wood" (Shemot 15:25) as well as the salt Elisha cast in the water (Kings II 2:21).  

So we see, the Ramban explains that the Torah often specifically utilizes the cause of harm in order to heal and bring benefit, and adds two examples:

When Am Israel thirst for water and reach Marah, Moshe takes a piece of wood and sweetens the water. Chazal said that this was a piece of olive wood, which is bitter - and this is exactly the wood which sweetened the water.

In the case of Elisha as well, it was the salt which remedied the salty water.

There is a great message here. The Torah comes to educate and teach us that in reality, no evil descends from heaven, and the same object which you see as destructive, and outwardly it embodies only evil - deep inside it also contains the attribute of healing. The snake which can kill is the same snake which can remedy, if only you looked toward He who created it. And evidently this is the explanation of the Mishna - that the snake does not kill unless HaShem decided that at this moment it will kill, but the same snake has the power to heal as well. And it is known that snake poison is used to prepare snakebite treatment (antivenom).

The power to kill and to resuscitate, says the Mishna, the ability to make one sick and to heal, doesn't exist in the substance. The material is neutral, lacking positive or negative direction. It contains powers which can heal and damage as well.

Similarly the Midrash says, in Shemot Rabbah:

"Rabban Shimon Ben Gamliel says: come and see how different the ways of HaShem are from the ways of flesh and blood – flesh and blood heal the bitter with the sweet, but Hashem heals the bitter with the bitter. How? He puts that which causes the damage into that which was damaged in order to perform a miracle."

And it appears that the snake is only a metaphor for all of life's events, and it teaches us that even an event which outwardly seems bad and damaging, deep inside it brings benefit, and it is the cause of future good. But the prerequisite to seeing the good is an outlook of Emunah and a lot of patience.

The words of the Gemara in Pesachim regarding this are well-known:

"'And HaShem will be the king of all the world, on that day HaShem will be one and His name will be one.' The Gemara asks: and now is He not one? Rabbi Acha Bar Chanina said: The next world (olam haba) is not like this world; in this world we say 'hatov vehameitiv' on good tidings and 'baruch dayan ha'emet' on bad tidings. In the next world – (on) everything (we say) hatov vehameitiv."

The Tzalach asked: What does this mean, that in the future we will say hatov vehameitiv on the bad? Will there be no bad in the future?

And the Tzalach answers: The meaning of the Gemara is that we will say hatov vehameitiv on the bad of this world – which then (at the time) you thought it was bad, but in the world of truth you will understand that this was also for the good.

Research proves that people who went through crises and difficulties are people who succeed better in life, they are more fortified and resilient. So it is exactly the bad - the snake - which can be used as a lever to success.

It seems that when B'nei Israel complain, it is possible to solve the problem with a local treatment. No water? We will bring water, make the rain fall, etc. But a better solution must be one which causes us to rise above the complaints and to solve the difficulty from the root, since behind every complaint or difficulty lies an unsolved spiritual problem. HaShem teaches us here how to relate to the difficult, harsh things in life – all the problems, trials, struggles and crises – all the things which seem bitter to us.

When HaShem sweetens the bitter with bitter, He reveals to us that that in reality there is no such thing as "bitter." HaShem is completely good, and His will is do good, to benefit. And also when we occasionally feel difficulty or trials, we must always know that everything is for one's good. When the bitter is sweetened by the bitter, this shows that in its essence, the bitter is also sweet, even if this cannot always be discerned. The bitter difficulties can be made sweet by the way we relate to them. In this way, for example, when one elevates a difficulty and turns it into a challenge, into a spiritual mission – in this way he sweetens it.

And maybe we can say that this is the reason that HaShem chose to punish and heal specifically with the snake, because the snake is the symbol of yetzer ha-ra, the evil inclination, and the parsha teaches us that even this can be harnessed for the good – as Chazal say regarding 'becol levavcha' (with all your heart[s]) – with both of your inclinations. Also: "And the Lord saw all He made and behold it was very good"- this was the evil inclination.

The evil inclination is necessary for the world, but it has the power to kill, to do damage and to cause people to fall. But if one learns to use the power of yetzer ha-ra for the good, then it can be a lever for good and blessing.

May we merit to turn bad into good and to see all of life's crises in the proper light.

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